Thieves Like Us (1974) Movie Script

BOWIE: You know, they say there's some of the best fishing around here in that pond by the cow barn on Huett's land. CHICAMAW: Listen, I'm gonna tell you all something about fishing, Bowie. Most people won't admit to it. Best time to go fishing is in the rain. Well, I ain't ever done that. Of course you haven't. Somebody says, "Fish in the rain. " "Well, the fish won't be out. " Hell, if they don't wanna be out. Fish don't mind. They live in the pond, the lake, whatever. They're wet already. Few more paddles and we're there, Bowie. Good for you. (GROANS) Come on, son of a bitch. - Not a bad day's work, is it? - I'll say. - You fellas stay here. Guard the boat. - See you. (HORSE NEIGHING) I know they're just not gonna be here. Well, they might. I told you. They're not here. - No. Look there. See? - Where? Right there. (CAR ENGINE SPUTTERING) Who's driving? Who was that guy who sells marijuana, the prison guy? Jasbo? Yeah, I think that's who's driving. I could tell he sells marijuana just by the way he drives. He just hit a pothole. (JASBO SHOUTING) BOTH: Hey! Hey! Howdy, Bowie. What you boys doing out here, fishing? Hi. Hey, did y'all hear the one about the little boy that bought the turtle? Had one of them turtles, you know, that they paint pictures on. Well, the next day, he took it down to the store, and he grabbed the manager and he says, "Look," he says, "My turtle got blisters on his feet. " Man looked at him and says, "That's not possible, son. " He reached down, he took the turtle away from him, he looked at it. He says, "Son, I believe you're right. " He says, "This turtle does have blisters on his feet". Had two syrup buckets sitting over there on the counter. He reached over there and he dropped that turtle in one syrup bucket, and he reached down in that other syrup bucket and pulled out that turtle, and he handed it to the little boy. Little boy took that turtle, and he looked at it and he said, "Thank you, sir. " He put it right on top of the counter and he says... (IMITATING CAR ENGINE REVVING) (GUN COCKING) God almighty, man. This is a stickup, Jasbo. Bowie, you know me. Tell these boys I'm all right. BOWIE: You just do like you're told. I'll do anything you say. All you gotta do is just tell me. CHICAMAW: Come on, now, Jasbo. You're gonna put your hands there high on that wheel. - High, that's right. - T-DUB: All right. - You put your head between them. - Okay. JASBO: Yes, sir. I'll put my hands down between my legs if you want me to. CHICAMAW: Now, you don't have to do that, Jasbo. Yeah, yeah. Just tell me, though. Fourteen? Fourteen? What do you think we are, midgets? All right, come on, hurry up. (THUNDER RUMBLING) - Button later, button later. - Okay. What do you think we are, T-Dub, giants? Come on, will you? Jasbo, put your head down. JASBO: Yes, sir. Come on, let's go, let's get going. Worry about the straps later. T- DUB: All right, come on. Let's go. Get in, get in. All right, Jasbo, start your motor. JASBO: Yes, sir. I see you wince just once, Jasbo, and I'm gonna shoot you right in the side of the head. Yes, sir. Yes. - Just hang a U here. - Yes, sir. CHICAMAW: I'll bet the colonel's bowels are in an uproar by now. I can just hear him saying, "Get out and slap that bunch of no-goods. "That's what you get for treating them like white men. " (ALL LAUGHING) T- DUB: No more baseball and passes to go fishing. Now go and beat Bowie Bowers. And that T-Dub Masefield, he isn't gonna work in that commissary no more. CHICAMAW: Well, praise the Lord for that. I can hear him saying, "Get out the guns - "and the hounds and the .30-30s... - Yeah. "... and you shoot them sons of bitches down. " (ALL LAUGHING) BOWIE: Did you hear any baseball scores, Jasbo? JASBO: No, sir, I sure haven't. Well, don't the radio work? No, sir. It don't. It never has worked when it's raining. Hey, Jasbo, why don't you sing us a song? I don't know no songs. What do you mean, you don't know no songs? The radio don't work. You be the radio. You sing us a song. Well, there is a song we used to sing in high school. Oh, that's okay, boys. Sing the high school song. (ALL SINGING) (CHICAMAW LAUGHING) (ALL LAUGHING) T- DUB: Thataway, Jasbo! BOWIE: Yeah, Jasbo! CHICAMAW: Just another what? JASBO: Just another accident. (ALL SINGING) (ALL LAUGHING) T- DUB: Hey, Jasbo! (TIRE BURSTS) CHICAMAW: Jasbo, I could shoot you for this. Bowie, get that spare tire. That ain't my fault. That tire's a brand new tire. BOWIE: His spare's flatter than a sailcat. Gentlemen, this wins the purloin bathtub. Come on, let's walk it. You go ahead, Bowie. I'll take care of Jasbo right now. - Take care of me? - Come on, in the car, in the car. - Yes, sir. - Move it, move it, move! Yes, sir. Now, you know what to do, don't you, Jasbo? - Or am I gonna have to tie you up? - No, sir, you don't have to tie me up. - I know what to do. - That's a good boy. - Now, you bump your head on that wheel. - Yes, sir. And you close your eyes and you keep your eyes closed, you hear me? Yes, sir. You keep those eyes closed for the next two hours, hey? - Yes, sir. - Three hours, 'cause I'm gonna come back and check every once in a while. You got me? Yes, sir. (LAUGHING) You ain't fooling me. I know you're there. With the gun pointing at my head. I ain't gonna open my eyes. (THUNDER RUMBLING) I'm gonna keep my eyes closed. You said that you was gonna come back, and I believe you, so that's... That's where I'm gonna be, right here with my eyes closed when you get here. (BIRD HOOTING) I'll tell you one thing. When I rob my next bank, it'll be my 28th. Well, I'm not gonna mess around with any clodhopper banks. Yeah. Best way to case one of those banks is to go in there and cash those $20 bills. Country boy's up. Your breakfast is ready, Bowie. I ain't hungry. I remember one time, couldn't have taken more than 2,000 off that niggerhead. I see a cash slip, and I go over, I read it. Then I go over to him, and I say, "Friend, is your cash slip usually accurate?" And he says, "Yes, sir. " And I said, "Well, in that case, "you owe me $2,378.87 "because I just seen this slip. " He knows I got him. He starts cursing and swearing, so I just put the twitch to him. (BOTH LAUGHING) He's jumping up and down and hollering, "Calf rope, calf rope. " So I let him go, and he points to this bottom drawer, opens it up and sure enough, there it all was. I'll tell you one thing. You know what that banker would've done - if you hadn't found that slip? - What? He would've squawked his head off that he was robbed of it all anyway. Yes, sir, those bankers got cash stashed all over that bank, and every night they're just praying to get robbed. (THUDDING) (BIRDS SQUAWKING) BOWIE: Jesus Christ, what'd you all see? CHICAMAW: Well, there was something in that grass. Well, shit. I left my shoe. I thought all the laws in the country was in that grass the way you all tore out. Well, go back and get your shoe. We're waiting for you. I guess if he can make it without two toes, I can make it without a shoe. T- DUB: Hey, wait for me, you guys! (TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWING) Lookie here. Come here. Where'd you come from? Come on down here. Come here. You belong to someone? You're just a thief like me. You sure look fat. You sure you don't belong to somebody? My foot feels just like a stump. I sure wish them boys would get back here. I'm gonna go dingbatty waiting. Man on a stump can't do much of his job. Well, them boys'll be back here. Takes time to locate a man when you don't know where he lives. Well, I ain't gonna be hearing no more from my people. You know, that's the first thing the law does is look up the people a man has been writing to and watch them places. Goodbye, Mama. One thing about you, though, whatever I ever did was okay with you and cousin Tom. (CAR APPROACHING) You hear something? Now what the hell? They said three blinks. I can't tell if that's going on or off, or what it's doing. I can't tell who that is. Damn, I hate to let him go by. Looks like another hungry night. It's okay. I can rig myself up for anything. Come on down here. Come on. You and me are gonna spend the night together. You get to be my blanket. Come here. Come on. Oh, I'm sorry. If them boys ain't back by daybreak, though, I just got to go on in. I can't help it. I'm gonna go dingbatty waiting out here. Hey, maybe you and me go in together. Get us both something to eat. (TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWING) You see a snake, you let me know. I don't like snakes. (TRAIN APPROACHING) (ROOSTER CROWING) Howdy, friend. What the hell did I do with them pliers? Here. I see you're working on your headlamp. Listen, you got a cold Coke? Over there in that box. It'll cost you a nickel. Yeah, well, thanks, but I had one this morning. You're Dee Mobley, ain't you? Mmm-hmm. Well, look, have you had a couple of visitors here lately? Them's new shoes. Your feet hurting you? Doggone whistling. One of them is, anyway. Yeah. Got new pants on, too. Yeah. I just got these uptown. Where the hell you been? Waiting for Chicamaw and that T-Dub Masefield. Well, I come driving out there myself last night to get you. Yeah. I recognize the truck now. Yeah, it was me. That was me. Can you beat that? And I just let you go right on by. Well, boys are up them steps there. (KNOCKING ON DOOR) Hey, Chicamaw, is that you? Of course it ain't me. I'm here. Chicamaw. Where the hell you been, Bowie? We thought you'd gone back to the farm. I've just been sleeping under a train is all, and thinking I was a lone wolf. Where's that old T-Dub? T- DUB: Hey, hey, Bowie, come on in here. I was gonna go back out there and get you myself tonight. Yeah. You wanna glom? - Man, I'll say. - Good. You know, we didn't get holed up in this place till about 5:00 this morning, so I was gonna go back out and pick you up tonight. I don't know how the hell Dee missed you. It was my own fault. How's that? Well, one of the headlamps on that truck was shorted or something. That thing blinked 50 times if it blinked once. I couldn't tell what was happening. - How's your head? - What are you talking about? What's the matter with your head? Well, look at his hair. What's the matter with my hair? He put some toilet water on his hair, and the seat fell down, hit him right in the head. You guys are about half-crocked. The seat fell down. (ALL LAUGHING) Here's you some Picayunes. We're all out of Twenty Grands. (WHISPERING) Damn it. I haven't had a Twenty Grand in two years. I don't want a Picayune. (WHISPERING) You smoke anything and you know it. Hey, that food's pretty good, huh? You hungry? It's a hell of a lot better than what he used to make in the prison, huh? Here. Have some whiskey. - Oh, I don't want... - Come on. It'll help you. - Give me some. - It tastes good. It tastes good. - Hey, hey. - I know you want some. - I'm trying to get him to drink some. - Come on, will you? All right. Oh, hell. I just got a soggy cracker. Hey, Bowie, how's that foot doing? Bowie. How's that foot? - Oh, it's okay. I just needed a shoe on it. - Yeah. How's your foot? My foot's fine. How's your foot? Oh, you're paying attention. (MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO) RADIO ANNOUNCER: The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, makers of the famous Firestone ground-grip tires for cars, trucks, tractors, and all-wheeled farm implements, brings you the 18th in a series of transcribed Firestone... Here's your newspaper and cigarettes. Oh, thanks, Miss Keechie. Damn it. I told her three times, I don't want Picayunes, I want Twenty Grands. BOWIE: That little lady ain't got no business running with a bunch of criminals like us. Damn it. Hey, lookie here. Will you lookie here? It's about us. Let me see. (MEN SINGING ON RADIO) "Parchman, Mississippi. "The escape of three life-term prisoners "who kidnapped a taxicab driver "in their desperate flight was announced here tonight "by Warden Everett Gaylord of the state penitentiary. "Combined forces of prison, county and city officers were looking for the trio. "The fugitives are Elmo 'Tommy Gun' Mobley... " - Tommy Gun? - "... 35, bank robbery. "And T-Dub 'Three-toed' Masefield, "44, bank robbery. "And Bowie A. Bowers, "23, murder. " They're pulling that toe stuff again on me. All right, you sons of bitches. "Mobley and Bowers, Warden Gaylord disclosed, "took advantage of permits "allowing them to go fishing on prison property "and Masefield of a pass to town. "All three were privileged trustees. "Bowers, the youngest of the escaped men "who was serving a life sentence, "had been commuted from the death penalty. " - I didn't know that. - CHICAMAW: I didn't, either. "He was convicted in the murder of a storekeeper "in Selpa County "when he was 16 years old. "He was a member of the prison baseball team. "When asked why the three trustees were able to escape, "the warden, Everett Gaylord, replied, "'If you can't trust a trustee, "'who can you trust?"' That's it. Not a very long piece about us, is it? Well... Only had a machine gun once in my life, and I never even got to fire it. I just held it. Goddamn toe stuff. (MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO) - Can I buy you a Coke? - What with? Well, Dee said it'd be okay if we charged for a couple of days until we get set up. Oh, yeah, I know. I read in the newspapers about you. Yeah, well, them papers don't always tell the whole story, you know. How come you'd ever get in trouble? Just some fellas in the carnival I was working with said they knew a fast way to make some money. I just went along to see how it was done. Them boys had a safe picked out. You were in a carnival? Yeah. I joined up in one a couple of years after my daddy died. A man killed him. Miss Keechie, you know what the Mississippi state animal is? What? You know, the state animal. I don't know. A deer, maybe? No, sir. It's a squashed dog in the road. You know what the state flower is? Did you shoot that man in Selpa? (MAN CHATTERING ON RADIO) (MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO) It was him or me. He'd come around the car after me with a gun. It's a weed. That's dumb. You smoke a lot. I don't even breathe it in. (CAR APPROACHING) (HORN HONKS) Keechie? Oh, my... You haven't seen my dog around, have you? - Which one of them's yours? - DEE: Keechie, where are you, you... You know, that big yellow one that was following me when I come here. Oh, yeah. He ran off with some redneck driving a pickup truck. Yeah, that's all right. Wasn't my dog anyway. (DEE MOANING) DEE: Keechie, where are you? CHICAMAW: Being on a prison farm don't make no difference. If you ain't got no money, it's still no good. T- DUB: Better than whacking your arm off. BOWIE: What? CHICAMAW: I seen four boys chop themselves in one week. - How? - Hatchet. Arms, toes. Just like T-Dub. But why? T- DUB: They work you to death. I saw those boys dropping dead right in front of me like flies. And those bosses sitting up there on the horses with the shotguns. And they're looking down on you, and they're saying, "Hey, old thing, ain't you ever gonna get up?" Man. Call your shot, Bowie. Oh, I'm in, I'm in. Gentlemen, that settles it. It'll be my 30th bank. But I don't believe you have to kill them. Oh, come on. Those bankers just hold out the money for you. It's insured anyway. Hey, look. Look, I've been saving these. Now, you just draw those straws, and the short man works on the outside, okay? - What do you mean, the outside? - He drives the car. Okay. Go ahead. Got her? Okay, that's it. Move! BOWIE: T-Dub drives, huh? Now, wait a minute. Wait a minute is right. We gotta draw again. Give me that. Okay. All right, let's go. Oh, shit, I got it again. I mean, I can't drive a getaway car with this foot. Yeah, well, he can't rob a bank. He don't know how. All right, let's forget the straws. All right, Bowie, you drive the car, and Chick and I, we'll work the inside, okay? - Suits me. - All right, let's go, Chick. Goddamn! The Giants beat the Cards this afternoon. CHICAMAW: The Cards? (MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO) (WHISTLE BLOWING) RADIO ANNOUNCER: Sloan's Liniment presents Gangbusters. (MACHINE GUN FIRING) (WHISTLE BLOWS) Gangbusters at war, marching against the underworld. From coast to coast, Gangbusters, the G-men, our government agents marching against the underworld. (WHISTLE BLOWS) (MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO) (WHISTLE BLOWS) RADIO ANNOUNCER: Tonight, Gangbusters presents (POLICE SIREN WAILING) the case of the bandit brothers, who rode a crooked trail of death and robbery over the plains until vigilant, fast-shooting, Western peace officers straightened them out. (CHICAMAW LAUGHING) BOWIE: Anybody following us? T- DUB: Are you kidding? They're locked in that vault. They'll be in there for 30 more minutes. (ALL LAUGHING) CHICAMAW: You know, pretty soon, I'm going to be wearing a $15 Stetson, a $60 suit, and a brand new pair of silk underwear. (ALL LAUGHING) (MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO) T- DUB: Okay, that's what you started with. (MAN CHATTERING ON RADIO) There's your pile. Chicamaw, there's yours. There's mine. And these coins here, they'll be for beer and gas and general expenses, all right? Okay, Bowie, you take that Plymouth out and you burn it. - Burn it? - Yeah, burn it. Chicamaw, you take the bus to Vicksburg. Get us another car with some extra plates, okay? Bowie, you can hole up here for a couple of days. Where are you going? I'm gonna go to my sister-in-law, Mattie's. I... I think we can get a car there, and maybe she'll let us stay. Where will we meet? In Canton. There's this Episcopal church, you know, with a graveyard in it. And this bride and groom, they were gonna get married there, but on the way there, they were killed by somebody. When? In 1875! Everybody knows about the place. It's supposed to be haunted. - We're not gonna meet there, are we? - Oh, sure. Right across the street is this barn. That's how you can tell on the highway. And we'll meet there day after tomorrow, about 3:00 in the afternoon. All right? Well, gentlemen, this'll be my 33rd bank. (HORN HONKING) (HENS CLUCKING) (STATIC ON RADIO) - Can I listen with you? - Sure. (MUSIC PLAYING) Want a Coke? No, thanks. I'll go get you one if you want. It's okay. I don't want one. You cut your hair. I don't know. I just sort of evened it off. Chicamaw owes me $10. You'll never see it. I ought to know, 'cause he's my second cousin. RADIO ANNOUNCER:... nationwide NBT Blue Network. A full hour of entertainment featuring Dennis Thornhawk, famed contralto of the Metropolitan Opera Company, Gertrude Lawrence, the brilliant English stage and screen actress, Walter Damrosch, distinguished composer and conductor, David and Goliath... Who's your fella? Why do you ask that? I don't know. I was just asking. Yeah, but why? I don't know. It's none of my business. It's just most girls have a fella, that's all. I don't know what most girls have. (MUSIC PLAYING) You never have had a fella? No. Not even just to walk you to church or something like that? No. Why? Do you think I should've? No. I was just wondering. That's your own business. You know anything about cows, Bowie? No. I come from the Ozarks. All we grow there is rocks and tomatoes. They ever have twins? Boy, you got me there. I don't know what made me think of it. You ever shoot a.45? No. But I have a real strong grip. I could out-crack any of the girls in school on pecans. You remember that game? I win all the time. Yeah, I remember that. What'd we call it? Hully-gully. Yeah, right, hully-gully. Let me feel your grip. Oh, I gotta go. Have a good trip to wherever you're going. (PLANE ENGINE ROARING ON RADIO) (MUSIC PLAYING) RADIO ANNOUNCER: Speed Gibson of the International Secret Police. MAN: Ceiling zero. Ceiling zero. Ceiling zero. Ceiling zero. Ceiling zero. Speed Gibson, Clint Barlow, his uncle, an ace operator of the International Secret Police, and Barney Dunlap, Clint's aide, have come to Hong Kong, China determined to end the criminal career of the notorious bad man, the Octopus. During the trip over on the China Clipper... (CHILDREN CHATTERING) WOMAN: You know what I got in the case? WOMAN: Here you go. You want a Coke? Thank you. Tell your mom and daddy where you got this Coke. Now, don't forget. It's good for you. You tell your mom and dad where you got it. There you go. There you go. Here you go. Have some Coke. It's good for you. T- DUB: All right, hold it. Let's get in the car. Get in there. Not there, lady. In the front seat. (STATIC ON RADIO) ANNOUNCER: Authorities in Dockville report that two negroes accused of murder were taken from the sheriff, tortured, and lynched earlier today. The two were... (STATIC BUZZING) (MUSIC PLAYING) ANNOUNCER 2: Four and a half minutes later, the Endeavor crosses the finish line, and King captures the true spirit of her defeat. Any news? We got to wait for the papers. What the hell is that? What's all that noise? MATTIE: Bubba? Bubba. Elmo, you put on your pants. There's ladies in this house. (T-DUB LAUGHING) Bubba, Bubba, I told you about those firecrackers. Now, you come on in here. You just sit down here and give me all your firecrackers. I don't have any more. Well, you just sit there until dinner time. (ORGAN MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO) MAN: To the hills! Take to the hills! MATTIE: Noel Joy, you go do your practicing before supper. You know, we are really traveling high on the hog, considering that a couple of weeks ago we didn't even have a pot to... Or a window to throw it out of. BOWIE: Pretty nice. Yeah, you really hitched in with some real fast company, hey, Bowie? I'll say. (PIANO MUSIC PLAYING) MAN: Ready and step, shuffle, ball change. Step, shuffle, ball change. Sugar, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Step, shuffle, ball change. Step, shuffle, ball change. Sugar, 2, 3, 4... Hey, boys, look at Lula. Step, shuffle, ball change. Don't you think she and I would make a good team? The last time I saw her, she came up to my knees, but look at her now. Look at her. Step, shuffle, ball change. Hey, Lula, do you remember the time I bought you a little stuffed pillow? It was down in Florida. I think you were about 12 or 13 years old at that time. - Do you remember that? - Come on, Noel Joy. - Let me comb out your hair. - Yeah. Yeah, I remember. You squeezed me more than you did it. Yeah. She's going to beauty school. Ain't she pretty? Now she's gonna make other people pretty, too. BOWIE: I think you got old T-Dub going, Lula. Hey, it don't take much. He's like an octopus. Eight hands going all at once, slimy and grimy. Oh, come on, honey. We're in the family. I'm like your uncle. Uncle T-Grub. Teddy, come on. - Teddy? - LULA: Cut it out, okay? She called him Teddy. Like teddy bear. What's so funny? CHICAMAW: Nothing. Well, dinner's ready. Don't let it get cold. Lula, come on in. It's on the table. I wanna finish Noel Joy's hair. Well, finish it at the table. James Mattingly, go out and get the paper. It ain't there. Well, go out and wait for it, and I'll keep your dinner warm. Come on, Lula, let's get some of that dinner, huh? - Come on, honey. - Come on, let's go. Okay? Okay, okay. (THUNDER RUMBLING) I don't wonder that brother of mine isn't working his head off to get out of prison with cooking like this, Mattie. It's not the cooking that's gonna get him out, Teddy. Yeah. You cook like your sister, Lula? No. I just go to beauty school. That's the only thing that's important to me. Well, you just keep on doing it, honey. Yeah. Noel Joy, hand me the paper. Bubba, take your hat off at the table. Bowie, pass me Bubba's plate. Noel Joy, don't shovel your food. It's all over the front page. Hey, let me see that. "In one of the boldest bank holdups in Mississippi history, "three armed bandits this morning "robbed the Canton Exchange Bank here, "kidnapped A.T. Berger, vice president, "his secretary, Miss Alma Biggerstaff, "and escaped with what bank officials estimated was more than - "$100,000 in cash and securities. " - Noel Joy, eat your carrots and your peas even. Hey, Chicamaw, didn't you leave them the securities? You're damn right, I did. I put the securities in a sack and tied the sack to his leg. Yeah. "Berger and Miss Biggerstaff, "with Ted Phillips, negro bank porter, - "also kidnapped by the trio... " - Come on, Noel Joy, - eat up. - "... were picked up by passing motorists "21 miles east of here at 8:00 tonight. "Miss Biggerstaff was in a hysterical condition "from the day of terror and imprisonment. " I did my best to be nice to her. "Working with precision of master criminals... " - Bubba, your meat's all cut up now. - ... the robbers entered the bank "before the doors opened this morning. " - Get started. - "The arriving bank employees, "unable to get into the bank at 8:00, "sounded the alarm. "At a called meeting this morning - "of the Chamber of Commerce... " - Bubba, - use your roll as a pusher. - ... the director authorized "the posting of a $100 reward "for the capture of any member of the gang "dead or alive. " (THUNDER RUMBLING) What do you got for dessert, Mattie? Bread pudding and raisins. I'll get it. - You finished, Noel Joy? - Yes, ma'am. Okay. Let me have one of those, Lula. You got a match, Bowie? I have one. Oh, thanks, kid. (THUNDER RUMBLING) It's gonna rain. (MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO) (MAN LAUGHING) Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? (LAUGHING) The Shadow knows. (ORGAN MUSIC PLAYING) RADIO ANNOUNCER: The Shadow, Lamont Cranston, a man of wealth, a student of science and a master of other people's minds, devotes his life to righting wrongs, protecting the innocent and punishing the guilty. Using advanced methods that may ultimately become available to all law enforcement agencies, Cranston is known to the underworld as the Shadow. The Shadow's true identity is known only to his constant friend and aide, Margo Lane. Today's story, The Message from the Hill. MAN ON RADIO: Hand me that map, Jake. JAKE: Yeah, okay, boss. Spread it out on the table, Jordan. Okay. Now let's check the whole thing once more. Hi. Hi, Bowie. (MEN CHATTERING ON RADIO) Want me to dry for you? No, that's okay. It's all right. I used to dry for my mama all the time. Well, that's sweet of you, Bowie, but that's Noel Joy's job. Part of her training. The plane goes up from the coast on Friday. Comes back on Saturday. It pays a little visit to the diamond mine in between. JORDAN: You're sure they ship the diamonds out every three months? Listen, Jordan. I've worked for those fat-headed birds for over a year. - I know. - Well, it looks foolproof to me. And there's enough diamonds in one of them shipments to keep us all like aristocrats. Okay, Chick, let's take it. Now, we're gonna do this exactly like we got it planned, right? We go in there and clean this bank out. Yeah, yeah. Only I want to get Lula inside that safe. - No, no, no, no, no, no. - Why? No, no, no. Now remember, you don't know her name. This is just a teller. You've never seen her before. It's not Lula! - All right. All right. - All right. We got to do this right or we don't do it at all. We'll do it right! - Okay! - Now listen. This is gonna be my 36th bank! Let's go! Good morning. I'd like to cash this $20 bill. Yes, sir. Right away. Would you like it in ones or fives? I'd like it in ones, fives and tens. Boy, this is dumb. What did you say? I said this is dumb. For Christ's sake, T-Dub. Is she gonna play or not? - God damn it, this is a stickup! - That's right. - Put your hands up! - Hands up! - Help! - Put them up! You back there, put your hands up! Don't shoot. Don't shoot. I'm just a porter. All right, porter, drop your broom. Now keep your hands up! Okay, come on. Let's get around there. Let's go. - All right, all right. - Let's go. Now just give me that money. You, miss, come over here. I wanna frisk you. Now get over here. I wanna see what kind of weapons you got in here. - Teddy! - Is that all of it? - LULA: Cut it out! - You sure? You're not lying to me? Okay. Hey, porter. Come over here. Teddy, cut that out! All right. Now, come on, this is a real gun! Now get over here. - Well, don't point it at me, then! - Okay, come on. Miss, it's a real gun. I don't wanna see no funny looks from you. - Now, close your eyes. - It's real money, Chicamaw. This is a real gun, miss! Don't point it at me, Teddy! Damn it! Put your hands up! Teddy, this is enough. You got the money, T-Dub? - T-DUB: Yes, yes, I got it. - All right, all right. - I'm so tired of... - God damn it, Lula! You play the game and shut up! All right, that's enough now. Noel Joy, your dishes are waiting for you in the kitchen. Yes, ma'am. Lula, take Bubba in there and wash some of that burned cork off his face. Come on, Bubba. We'll use some cleansing cream that'll clean out your pores. MATTIE: Now, come on. Let's get this furniture put back. LULA: Come on now, come on. RADIO ANNOUNCER: Rudy Vallee requests your attention for the Royal Gelatin Hour. (MUSIC PLAYING) T- Dub, where the hell's the rest of the whiskey? Come on, Chicamaw, sleep a while. It'll be good for you. I ain't sleepy, Bowie. I'm drunk. Yeah, I know. I know. I'm real drunk, and I'm doing the bank robbery again. (PEOPLE APPLAUDING ON RADIO) MAN ON RADIO: Hi-ho, everybody... Boy, am I drunk. I don't mind telling you. You know, there's only three things in the whole world that I really love to do, and that's love and drink and rob banks. (MAN CHATTERING ON RADIO) But seeing as how there ain't enough women to go around here, I'm drinking. I'm doing the bank robbery again. - Come on. - Stop talking so loud. - Come on. - All right, old boy, all right. My cuticles feel fine. Now, listen, Lula. When Mattie goes to sleep tonight, I want you to come to my room, you understand? What for? Well, I'd like... I'd like you to... I like girls to do things to me. You know what I mean? Well, I'm trying to give you a manicure. - You'd like that if you just... - Listen to me. No. Listen to me. I want you to rub me all over. You know what I mean? Bowie, I'll tell that old battle-ax Mattie to just leave here. Come on, man. You gotta snap out of it. (MAN CHATTERING ON RADIO) You're coming with me to Hermanville, aren't you, pal? I said we'll talk about it later. Hermanville and Mexico. Yeah. Hey, you gotta come down to Hermanville with me. Don't you wanna do that? See that little cousin of mine. Maybe get yourself some Keechie-Keechie-koo. Keechie-Keechie-koo! Keechie-Keechie-koo! (MAN SINGING ON RADIO) Oh, I'll bet that's how that little chipper wakes herself up in the morning. Keechie-Keechie-koo. (LAUGHING) Man, you gotta be drunk to be talking that way. I gotta go get you a cold towel. Bowie, don't leave me. - Lula just vinegar-washed my hair, Bowie. - Wonderful. Hey, T-Grub! I wasn't being mean to them children. (JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO) Why don't you tell old battle-ax Mattie to rout out? Maybe this'll sober him up some. Yes! Come on, Lula. We gonna be late. Mattie, if you won't let me drive you, at least let me pay for a taxicab. Teddy, I been walking to this railroad station once a month for three years. I don't see any reason to change it now. Watch where you step. Bubba! (TRAIN HORN BLOWING) Going down to the penitentiary to see my Bud. I hate to see that little girl go. You'll see her again. Bowie, if you and Chicamaw go down to Hermanville, I might get down to Biloxi to see if I could get Lula to take a little trip down to Charleston and New Orleans. Yeah, Mattie can come back and hold the house down. I gave her $1,000 to buy a car and to run around on. You know, Bowie, I've been thinking. They'll never find three together like us again. No, sir. Not in a setup like this. Why, if we stay foxy, in a couple of months we'll have 50,000 apiece. Yeah, then we can back off for keeps. If we're gonna rob that bank in Yazoo, I'm for doing it and getting it over with. Gotta find me a doctor who's a thief like us who could saw off these fingerprints and fix that foot. Then I'd rear up in New Jersey on that little farm at North Branch. Just let the mistletoe hang off my coattail for the rest of the world. Yeah, I made my mistake when I was a kid. But kids don't see things. I should've been a doctor or a lawyer or run for office. I should've robbed people with my brain instead of a gun. I don't suppose I could've done anything but what I have. Except maybe pitch ball. What the hell time is it anyway? BOWIE: About noon. I feel awful. What was I into last night? Listen, Bowie and me have been talking business. You're gonna go to Hermanville. What do you say we let things rock for a month or so? Yeah, we meet in Yazoo City. About the 15th of next month, okay? Suits me. I'm in. Okay. Yazoo City it is, then. Boys, when I sack this one up, it'll be my 37th. Claiborne County, here we come. RADIO ANNOUNCER: And now, sports. Seabiscuit has done it again, won the $25,000 Butler Handicap at Empire City yesterday by little more than a leg. (STATIC BUZZING) (TIRES SCREECHING) RADIO ANNOUNCER:... every Wednesday night by the makers of Palmolive, the beauty soap made with olive oil. (WOMAN SOBBING) Tonight's a musical love story of a girl whose beauty captured the heart... Bowie! Bowie, you all right? Come on! Come on, wake up! You okay? Can you hear me? Say something, Bowie! You okay? Now, leave that stuff there. Come on. Here. Help me get this door open. - Where is that? Come on, help me! - Can we help? He's okay, mister. You go help that lady there. (CRYING) Come on, woman, take your coat off. My eyes! I can't see! Please! Do something! (WOMAN CHATTERING ON RADIO) MAN 1: Somebody call the sheriff! Call a doctor! (WOMAN SCREAMING) MAN 2: What's wrong with her? MAN 1: See, her leg's broke. WOMAN ON RADIO: And my dear friends, I'm sorry to have to tell you that Charles... What's your hurry, mister? This boy's hurt real bad. I'm taking him to the hospital. That girl over there is hurt, too. Where you from? Look, you fellas got any more questions, just follow me to the hospital. Come out of your car, friend. Not this time, friend. WOMAN: Please! Oh, God! (GUN FIRING) (WOMAN CRYING) Oh, please! Help me! Please, help me! (WOMAN SCREAMING) That old car. Bowie, you all right? Your nose is bleeding a little. Yeah, I'm all right. I'm just a little sick at my stomach. (WOMAN SINGING ON RADIO) What the hell you doing here? Thank God, you're here. Look, I need your help. - We had a little accident around the bend. - Well, I don't care... The boy's banged up pretty bad. Now, listen, I need a place to put him. Well, he got blood all over his face, God damn it! He's gonna bring the law down on me! Relatives, they're the worst! Think they can come in here and get everything for nothing! Well, you think life is free, don't you, Elmo? I never once had my name in the paper like you guys. Take him around back to the storage room. Go around this way. Turn right. Slow down. You know, Elmo, if it wasn't for your mother... You know, I love your mother. That's why I'm doing this. Now bring that Joe Palooka in here. Goddamn cretin Elmo. Thinks he can get away with all that. Look at that bloody face of yours. - Ease yourself into it. - You look awful! Now, careful. That's a rocker. Jesus Christ, Dee, what the hell died in here? What's that supposed to mean? It stinks. Well, you ain't in New York City, Elmo. All right, Bowie, come on. There's a bed over here. Two steps and then you just roll on easy. Come on, there you are. That's right. Now just roll over. Now, Bowie, listen to me. I'm gonna get the hell out of here, but if something happens, I get jumped, can't come around for a couple days, you might have to rabbit out of here, we'll meet at Yazoo City, you got that? - Yazoo. That's right. - Yazoo. We can't let old T-Dub down, now, can we? Bye, Dee. Thanks, Chicamaw. Yeah, we'll see you at the family picnic. (MAN SINGING ON RADIO) Well, you ain't hurt bad, are you? No. You see any reason why I should have to stay around here? Not a bit, Dee. Well, I don't know what kind of trouble you boys got yourselves into, but I sure as hell don't want to stay around your heat. (COUGHING) You know, if it wasn't for the money, well, I'd just close up shop here, and I'd put a sign up on the front door and I'd go up to Jackson. Leave you enough grub and water. I thought you could stay here for a while. Don't you worry about the money. Oh, well, hell. Bowie, I gotta worry about the money. Oh, well, Bowie... Warn your people not to come around here. That's nice of you. All right, well, there ain't nobody coming round here except for Keechie, and I'll just... I'll give her some of this money here, and I'll tell her to go see my sister Stella. She lives in Vicksburg. Yeah, well, Stella, she's stayed there a hell of a long time. She just... (DOG BARKING) (ROOSTER CROWING) Hi. You look awful. Put your head on my knee. Got a new hat, huh? Keechie, you better be careful about staying here. I been in a little trouble. You look like it. I got money. I mean, in this suitcase. $19,000. I don't know why I said that. Well, I'm glad you have it if that's what you want. I didn't mean nothing by it. Don't take me wrong. Just... I'm sorry. We gotta take your coat off. Can you sit up? Okay. Jesus! Must have snapped a couple of ribs or something. Well, we gotta do this. Lean up against the wall. Keechie, come here a minute, would you? What's wrong? Nothing. I just want to give you something. What is it? It's just a little old watch. You want it? I don't know. You wanna give it to me? Yes. Okay, I want it. You like it? Yeah. I never had one of these before. Time isn't set right, though. Don't break it. I'm not. You know how to put it on? Pretty good. Works okay, too. Sure it works. Thanks. You're welcome. Pretty good. (GIGGLING) (TRUMPET PLAYING ON RADIO) RADIO ANNOUNCER: The American School of the Air takes pleasure in presenting the most celebrated love story of all literature. The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare... BOWIE: My nose hasn't bled in a couple of days. How's your ribs? Not too good. In this special radio adaptation of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, The American School of the Air presents... I hope you get a good night's sleep tonight. ...some of the most beautiful lines of... I don't see how I can miss now you gave me this quilt. It's real warm. Yeah, I love it, too. My great-grandmother made it 62 years ago. ROMEO: If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine... Well, I guess I've done just about everything I can around here. ...ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss. But I ain't in no hurry if you want me to stay. We could listen to the radio. There's some good programs on tonight. Okay. JULIET: And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss. Have not saints lips and holy palmers, too? Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer. O! Then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do... Keechie, I never seen nobody like you before. Now I know what makes a fella get himself a missus and swing a dinner pail. Then move not, while my prayers' effect I take. Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged. Then have my lips the sin that they have took. Sin from thy lips? Guess it's about time for me to have a cigarette. Give me my sin again. You kiss by the book. NURSE: Madam, your mother... Don't go. I won't. What is her mother? Marry, bachelor. Her mother is the lady of the house... Oh, don't you go. Don't you go. I won't. ...that you talked withal. BENVOLIO: Romeo, away! Be gone! My only love sprung from my only hate! RADIO ANNOUNCER: Thus did Romeo and Juliet consummate their first interview by falling madly in love with each other. ROMEO: Soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun! Keechie-keechie-koo. The brightness of her cheek would shame the stars as daylight does a lamp. Keechie-Keechie-koo. Would through the airy region stream... Bowie-Bowie-boo. ...that birds would sing and think it were not night. Keechie-Keechie-koo. Bowie-Bowie-boo. (IN A DEEP VOICE) Keechie-Keechie-koo. (IN A DEEP VOICE) Bowie-Bowie-boo. (BOTH LAUGHING) ROMEO: She speaks. O! Speak again, bright angel. For thou art as glorious to this night, being over my head, as is a winged messenger of heaven. JULIET: O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou, Romeo? Deny thy father, and refuse thy name. RADIO ANNOUNCER: Thus did Romeo and Juliet consummate their first interview by falling madly in love with each other. JULIET: What's in a name? That which we call a rose... Keechie? ...would smell as sweet... So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called... You awake? ...which he owes without that title. Oh, Romeo, doff thy name... You feel tired? I don't know. Are you? I take thee at thy word. I don't know, either. Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized. Everybody always said you were supposed to be tired. Well, we took a nap. I don't feel tired. Neither do I. My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself... You wanna do it again? My ears have not yet drunk a hundred words... You suppose we should? You're not tired, are you? Art thou not Romeo, and a Montague? No, but you're not supposed to do it too often. I never heard about that. That part's okay. By whose direction foundest thou out this place? You sure you're not tired? No, Bowie, I'm not tired. Positive? I am no pilot, yet, what thou as far as that vast shore... I'm tired, Keechie. Oh, you dirty... (BOTH LAUGHING) RADIO ANNOUNCER: Thus did Romeo and Juliet consummate their first interview by falling madly in love with each other. How do you want your eggs? BOWIE: Any old way, honey. Over easy, I guess. What's the matter, Bowie? Nothing. I was just reading here. What is it? I don't wanna keep nothing from you, Keechie. I'm pretty deep in this business. I'm a lot deeper in than the last time I was here. I just want you to know that. I had a little trouble up the road. Two laws got killed. Did you do it? Them laws? Yes. You did not do it. You can't tell me that. I know who did it. Chicamaw, he did it. It don't matter who did it. I'll give you the straight of it, Keechie. I ain't sorry. I ain't sorry for anything I ever did in this world. Only regret I got is that I didn't get 100,000 instead of 19. And that I never pitched pro ball. You still could if you wanted to. You're a little soldier, Keechie. You're a little solider from your toenails right up to your hair. But you can't be getting mixed up with me. I already am mixed up with you. And didn't you mean that, what you said last night? I said a lot of things last night, and I meant all of them. Which one did you have in mind? You know what you said. You said you wished you had me. Oh, sure I do. God almighty, honey. Why don't you come here and lay down beside me a minute? Keechie, do you like me? Yes. Do you like me a whole lot? Yes. A hundred bushels full? Yes. A thousand bushels full? Yes. A hundred, million, billion, trillion bushels full? Yes. Keechie, I love you. Shouldn't we wait till night? No. BOWIE: You sure this place is okay, Keechie? KEECHIE: I wouldn't take you there unless I knew it was all right. Well, how do you know? Pa was a runner. People can buy their booze from the drugstore boys now, but they used to have to get it at the lake. BOY: A few more days, sir, and you would've missed us. We were getting ready to leave. Grandma says she can't take any more floods. Almost washed us out. You wouldn't recognize this place. Grandma says she'll let you have it cheap. It's pretty well dried out. You should have seen it before. BOWIE: We'll take it. You will? Good! I'll go tell Grandma. It's our first home. RADIO ANNOUNCER: A meeting of the Norge Kitchen Committee transcribed for American housewives from coast to coast presents an all-star program with... (PIANO PLAYING ON RADIO) Julius Anderson and Frank Drummett as our special shining lights for today, together with our regular supporting stars, the Norge rolling refrigerator, Norge concentrated range, Norge auto-built washer, Norge neutral ironer, Norge fine air furnace, and a host of other home-modernizing appliances. And here is your hostess and homemaking expert, the queen of the Norge kitchen, Miss Mary Moderne. MARY: Greetings, ladies, and welcome to another of our kitchen committee meetings. We've gathered right here in our Norge model kitchen listening to music from those two friends from the stage, radio, and screen... Alvin! ALVIN: Yes, ma'am? You remind me of a little girl who used to live down on the corner from my aunt! She died! She was awfully pretty. She used to say pieces in church, and her mama'd always fix her up so pretty. It liked to have killed her mama, and I guess it was the reason that her father went crazy. Well, he was crazy before that I would say, though. Chicamaw was telling me about that lawyer friend of his in Mexico. Hawkins. He didn't believe much in that heaven or hell stuff. Said the only way a man lived on was through his children. Is that why you'd like to have children? I never said nothing about having children. I know it. Why? Would you like a little boy like Alvin here? Someday, maybe. Someday is right. Where you going? Inside! I feel kind of sick! Oh, I'm sorry. BOWIE: You ever see the ocean, Keechie? KEECHIE: No. Me, neither. I'm 23 years old. What do you have in mind? Mexico. (MAN CHATTERING ON RADIO) Stop peeking. I won't quit peeking. I'll peek all I want to. RADIO ANNOUNCER: And now we have those three ambassadors who really had sense enough to get in out of the rain. Hairy little thing, aren't you? You think I should shave? No. I like it. Don't you ever shave. Okay, then. I won't, as long as I have you. (MUSIC PLAYING) I've been thinking about the boys, Keechie. I guess I'll have to see them in a few days. Why? Just a little business. I promised I'd meet them on the 15th of this month. Are you gonna wash your feet tonight? Not tonight, honey. I washed them last night. What are you planning on? Just business. I'll only be gone a couple of days. What are you gonna do? I just promised them, that's all. I ain't looking for trouble anymore. I'm going up there. I got nothing on my mind except not letting them boys wait and depend on me. I'm going, too. Throw me a towel. No, you're not going with me, Keechie. I said you weren't going. I heard you. Bad enough you being around my heat. Certainly not gonna let you hang around with the three of us. I made my mind up about that a long time ago. All right, Bowie. Now, let's get this straight. What do you mean, "All right"? I mean, it'll be all right. How are you gonna be feeling when I get back here? All right. You are gonna be here when I get back, aren't you? Yes. And it is all right? You're keeping your promise, and when you get up there, you're gonna let them boys know you're through with that kind of business? Well, I ain't gonna promise you, Keechie. If you make me promise you, it means you don't trust me. And if you don't trust me... I trust you, Bowie. After that, we can go out and have us a little fun for a change. That's why you feel so bad in the mornings. It's being cooped up in here all the time, taking baths and drinking Cokes. Bowie, come on in! What the hell, T-Dub? What the hell? Your hair's black. How'd you do it, drinking Dr. Kilmer's? Damn good disguise, huh? Yeah, the heat's on our ass all over the state. - That's why I thought it was a good idea. - Don't you wake him up... - Hi, Bowie! - BOWIE: Hi, Lula. Yeah, Lula did it for me. You want her to do it for you? You know, that blond hair of yours stands out like a lantern. No, no, I don't think so. Thanks, though. Oh, come on, Bowie. I'll do you a real good job. That's all right. I just don't like people fussing with me too much. Besides, I wouldn't know who to look for in the mirror. - Listen, where's Chicamaw? - Yuck. Oh, he's sleeping one off inside. LULA: For God's sake, don't wake him up. I will absolutely leave. Oh, he's really been guzzling. I don't know what's gonna happen to that boy. - He's sleeping now, huh? - Don't you wake him up, now. Hey, Lula, get his hat. You look like you just dropped in to say hello, Bowie. Yeah, I've been traveling hard and fast today. T- DUB: Oh, yeah? Where you been keeping yourself, Bowie? Down south of here a ways. We got something to show you. And if you'll just sit right there, I'll be right back. Okay. How's it been going with you, T-Dub? I've been picking grapes. What does that mean? Picking grapes. You get it? What are you taking about? I put $12,000 in the Grapes Motor Hotel in Pickens. Yeah, but I wanted to get that motor hotel for Mattie and the kids and that Bud of mine when he gets out. You know, so we could have our own place. That Mattie has been real loyal to that Bud of mine. She's real people. Just like us. You know, what I mean? - How's he? - Who? Your brother. Oh, well, we had some bad luck. The parole board turned him down. But Lula and me had a real fine trip in New Orleans. But that money just naturally gets away from you fast down there, Bowie. Was Chicamaw with you? I haven't seen him. He showed up here about three nights ago drinking Jake. Ta-da! (HUMMING) Looks real nice, Lula. It's real... It's green. It's... This isn't what we wanted to show you. This is just something Teddy bought me in New Orleans. This. Oh, did you graduate from beauty school? Not yet. Did you two go and get hitched? Yeah. Lula Jean Woodcock Masefield, that's my new name. Christ, T-Dub, you got your real name on here. Oh, yeah, but I turned the initials around. I made it W.T. Masefield. Well, that sure floors me. Hell, Lula, you got this all over my face. Oh, you know you love it. Oh, damn. Oh, God. How are you and that little Mississippi girl getting along? Who's that? What's her name, Keechie, isn't it? Keechie Mobley. What do you know about her? Remember the time I met her there at Dee's place? I didn't know that you two had teamed up, though, till I read about it in the papers. What did you read in the papers? - You mean you don't know about that? - No. I read something about it just last Sunday. I think it was. There was a picture of her I know that she must've had taken when she was in high school on account of the hairdo. Well, listen, it'll die down. I wouldn't let it worry me. It don't worry me. Sugar, I want you to go down to the Red Bonnet Hotel and freshen up. Bowie and me have some business to talk over, okay? Okay. Bowie, have you ever been to the Red Bonnet Hotel? - No. - They have the nicest wallpaper. See you later, sugar. Bowie, this bank is a bird's nest on the ground. We get 50,000 or not a dime. Good. I need money. Especially now. A man never knows when he's gonna need money and plenty of it in this business. Yeah. Hell, they'll never get three boys together like us again. That's for damn sure. CHICAMAW: Ruby! Ruby, God damn it, where are you? I pay you five... Hi, Chicamaw. Bowie. ROOSEVELT ON RADIO: My fellow countrymen, when four years ago we met to inaugurate a President, the Republic, single-minded in anxiety, stood in spirit here. We dedicated ourselves to the fulfillment of a vision, to speed the time when there would be for all the people that security and peace essential to the pursuit of happiness. We of the Republic pledged ourselves to drive from the temple of our ancient faith those who had profaned it, to end by action, tireless and unafraid, the stagnation and despair of that day. We did those first things first. All right, this is a stickup! Everybody stand still. All right, put your hands down, lady. Get in there. Hey, you, up there, up there against the wall. Okay, lady, put your hands down. Put your hands down. All right, come on here. Open this door. Let's go. You stay there. All right, banker, come on. We're going to the vault. Come on, get over there, lady. Get that money out of the drawer. Put it in the bag. Let's go. All right, put that money in there. Repeated attempts... BOWIE: Ma'am, would you come over here? All right, come on, come on. Hurry up, hurry up. That's good. ...and bewildered. All right, give me that bag. Come on, come on, mister. Let's go. Give me that. Put your hands down, lady. Turn around. Will you put your hands down? ...which are necessary to make science a useful servant... Sir, over there against the counter. Put your hands on it. Put your face against the wall. That's fine. Excuse me, ma'am, would you please step over to that counter? Put your hands on it and face the wall. That's fine, thank you. Now, don't anybody move. (WOMAN SCREAMS) ...Republic sensed the truth that democratic government has innate capacity to protect its people against disasters once considered inevitable, to solve problems once considered unsolvable. CHICAMAW: You guys give me the jitters. Why the hell won't you say something? Why don't you have another drink? A drink's not what I need. Well, I'm gonna go down and pick up Lula. She's at the Red Bonnet Hotel. I don't suppose either one of you two wanna go with me? I do. My car's just down the street. I think I'll just go on home. Why don't you stick with us, Bowie? You're getting awful stuck-up for a country boy. I'll see you boys pretty soon. Well, Lula and I'll be at the Bourbon Street hotel in New Orleans, May 1st, if anybody wants to see us. See you in the funny papers. (CLOCK CHIMES) RADIO ANNOUNCER: This is our guest star. Three charming girls whose harmony has gone on from coast to coast. The Boswell Sisters. (MUSIC PLAYING) D.A. Rolf and the Goodrich Silvertown Orchestra tell me they want to serenade someone for a few minutes... (SCANNING RADIO STATIONS) RADIO ANNOUNCER 2: Yazoo City, Mississippi, April 16. One bandit was dead here tonight, another wounded and... (STATIC BUZZING) ...was in jail as a vengeful aftermath... (STATIC BUZZING) ...another killing here this morning. The dead bandit is T.W. "Three-toed"... (STATIC BUZZING) Mississippi convict is sought for two months in connection with a half dozen bank robberies in Mississippi. He was shot to death by officers as he sat in a parked car in front of the Red Bonnet Hotel. His companion, Elmo "Tommy Gun" Mobley, was in the jail here under heavy... Bowie A. Bowers, fast-triggered killer... ...still eluded late tonight the combing search of a posse that numbered more than 300 peace officers and irate citizens. Mrs. Lula Masefield, reputed wife of the slain bandit was... (RADIO CLICKS OFF) (MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO) BOWIE: I'm back. I don't see that it makes any difference whether you came back here or not. T- Dub's dead. - And Chicamaw... - I heard all that. (MUSIC STOPS) Doggone it, Keechie, you know all about it? When did you start thinking about me? Thinking about you? Surely you didn't think about me when you were gone. What? You lied to me, you liar. You took them. It was me or them, and you knew it and you took them. All right. You and me are through. Don't touch me. This how you wanna go, like this? You lied to me! Liar! Go on, then! Go. I won't stop you. I don't want anything of yours. You're a fool. I'm not staying here. You can't stop me. I don't wanna leave you. You wouldn't have let me go, would you, Bowie? I mean, even if I had wanted to. You would have made me stay. I know you would've. I hope you done now, Bowie. Sure, Keechie. A whole, whole lot? Yeah. Maybe you better turn in. I guess so. That's what I'd do. Tomorrow, you and me go picking grapes. In California? Bowie, I don't know what you're talking about. You'll see tomorrow. Good night, T-Dub. Well, this must be it. What's this got to do with picking grapes? Well, it says right up there, "Grapes Motor Hotel," and this is Pickens. Don't you get it? Oh, Bowie, that's dumb. I think it's funny. BOWIE: Hello, Noel Joy. - Hi. - Remember me? Yes, sir. RADIO ANNOUNCER: We are proud to present a new series, The Heart of Gold, a story of... Well, hello, Bowie. Hi. Just passing through? I need a place, Mattie. You and that Mobley girl? Yeah. Why here? T- Dub said it would be all right. T- Dub's dead. Well, what's that got to do with it? I don't want you here, that's all. I'm trying to get Buddy out of jail, and I just can't have you hanging around. After all T-Dub did for you? Well, he's dead now. I've done all I'm gonna do in this. Listen, Mattie, if it's money that's holding you, don't worry about it. I don't want any of your money. All I want you to do is get off this place. You put us up or there's gonna be trouble. Bubba, you stop shooting off those firecrackers! Well, you can have number 13. Well, that figures. Thanks, Mattie. You're real people, just like T-Dub said. Come on, Bubba. Come on. KEECHIE: Bowie, I don't feel so good. Maybe you drank too many Cokes. This is our cabin right here. Get in. Get in. Bowie, something's really wrong with me, and I mean it. Can I just lay down somewhere? Sure, honey. Maybe you want me to get you something? I don't know. I just sort of feel like I'm gonna throw up or something. Well, let's just get on inside. BOWIE: You're plumb out, honey. If that Chicamaw was here, we could beat him easy. He's the only friend I got in this world. And that Mexico, Keechie, ain't but one person in this whole world that can get us down there. Just one. Say it worked. Say I run them roads from here to that farm, get there by tomorrow and spring that boy. Say it didn't work. Yeah, say it flopped. All right, Keechie. There you are. Where are you going? It'll be okay, honey. Can I come? Oh, I can't come. I feel terrible. You just lay there and rest. I'll be back here lickety-split. From where? Well, I've been thinking about my mama and getting her some money before you and me go to Mexico. I'll be back here pretty soon. Okay. Hurry back. Okay. Hey, you know what the Mississippi state tree is? Oh, Bowie, I don't know. It's the telephone pole. Oh, Bowie. (DOG BARKING) - Howdy. - Howdy. I got a bench warrant for a boy you got here. You'll find him at camp six. You see Captain Stammers. - Stammers. - Right. Thank you. (DOGS BARKING) Captain Stammers? STAMMERS: That is me. Well, I'm Sheriff Haviland, Smith County. Well, come on in if you've got some business with me. MRS. STAMMERS: How about some beans, sugar? No? You want a roll? More potatoes? What can I do for you? I wanna see a boy you got here. Elmo Mobley. Mobley? Well, that shouldn't be too difficult. Having yard detail today. The buildings around here are all falling down, but we do manage to get the yard cleaned up once a month. You've got papers for Mobley? Well, I don't plan to take him with me today. I just wanna talk with him a little on this trip. A little more of that gravy there. That is excellent. That's the best. You learned that from your mother. I'm not criticizing your cooking, but our mothers teach us lots of things. Pass the fork. Guess, I'll get fat. Thank you, honey. Well, listen, why don't I go out and wait in my car? You folks can finish your meal. I think that's an excellent idea. What you gonna have for supper? I thought I'd make some spaghetti. Excellent. Like the same recipe Saturday night, huh? You like that. Yes, but thicker on the whole. It ain't so much the weight, but I got to buy me some more clothes. Going now, doll, now. Hey, don't get out of the car. I'm not gonna walk back there. Now, if you'll pull up to the first squad working on the left here, that's where your boy Mobley is. I'll get him for you. STAMMERS: Bring Mobley over here. Hey, old thing. Indian. Come on, Mobley. Captain wants to see you. Okay, time. - Mobley. - Yes, sir. Get in the car. Clean your feet off before you get in the man's car. You didn't stop by the state to see the super, did you, Sheriff? No. I didn't come that way. I'll be stopping there on the way back, though. Give my regards to the super. You didn't go to the convention, did you? No, I didn't. I was sheriff for 14 years. I sure would have loved to have made that convention this year. I always had fun at those conventions. All right, Captain, this is a break. Put your hands on that windshield. Quick! Come on, move! We're going right out through the front gate, Captain. Don't you let on to nobody, no way, you understand? I understand. This is gonna cost me, boys. CHICAMAW: I don't think you should worry about it, Captain. It's gonna cost me plenty. Just tell that to the super, Captain. Get your hands down. You didn't fare so bad on that farm, boy. This is gonna cost me plenty, boy. - Goddamn it... - Pipe down, Chicamaw, for Christ's sake. (HORN HONKING) CHICAMAW: All right, Captain, get out. Boys, this will cost me plenty. I'm up for pension in two years. I'm 63 years old. Shit. You go on, Captain. Come on, get into the woods. It'll cost me plenty. You stay here, Bowie. I'll tie him up. Watch the road. Keep moving! (GUN FIRING) Can I have my gun? Did you shoot him? No. Well, what was that gunshot I heard? I just wanted to scare him. Oh, yeah. Tell you one thing, Bowie. I don't see how the hell you do it. I mean, you come back here and run these roads, pull a thing like that back yonder, and then you beat them laws left and right. I don't see how you do it. You're nothing but a big country boy, and you're chumpy as hell at times, and yet, by God, you do it. Just luck. Yeah. That's it, that's it, that's it, luck. Call it that. Ain't nothing else. Hell, you're just a country school chump, and yet you come back and run these roads and pull a thing like that back yonder, and... God, Bowie, you make me look like 30 cents. And what the hell do the papers do all the time but print about you all the goddamn time? It rips my guts out. Take you, and on top of that, that damn puny, little Picayune girl that ain't never seen the outside of a filling station, and by God... ...the papers do but print about you all the time. I tell you, it rips my... What the hell we stop here for, Bowie? What's going on? Come on, you son of a bitch, get out. What the hell you talking about, "Get out"? I will not! - Come on, out! - It's not gonna matter whether you... - God damn it, Bowie, what are you doing? - Get down the road! - God damn it... - Get! Come back here! I wanna see my folks, Bowie! I ain't seen my folks in a long time! Bowie! Bowie! Go on in. Go to sleep. (THUNDER RUMBLING) (CAR APPROACHING) Bowie? (THUNDER RUMBLING) What are you doing up? I woke up and I just wondered who you were out here. Well, you get on inside. You're gonna catch cold. I don't know where Bowie is. Do you know where he went? I just woke up and I got real scared. We've never been apart, you know? I mean, for very long, anyway. Oh, now, he told me that he'd be back in the morning and for you not to worry. He wants me to take good care of you and the baby. Is that right? That's right. So that's what's been the matter with me. Now, you go on back in and you get some sleep, and you'll see him in the morning. Okay, if that's what he said. Well, that's what he said. Thanks for telling me about him. And the part about the baby, too. A baby. I sure hope it isn't as sick in there as I've been out here. - Good night. - Good night. (THUNDER RUMBLING) (MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO) RADIO ANNOUNCER: And the readings of Franklyn MacCormack. I have a book of thoughts and dreams, in which I read at times, where many a long-past joy gleams in hopes of singing rhymes. Oh, I'm so glad you're here. I need a Coke. And I got the nickel here, Mattie. Listen, I just can't stop throwing up. I don't see how you stand it. I miss Bowie so much, I can't even tell you. We've never been apart for more than little times. Well, I guess I told you that before. There he is! Can I get a Coke for him, too, Mattie? I'll pay you back later. You can't go out there. What are you doing? Mattie, let go. Who are all those men out there? Bowie! Let go, Mattie! Let go! Let go, Mattie! Bowie! (GUNS FIRING) Let go! Bowie! Bowie! Bowie! Give up! Bowie! Let go of me! (GUNS FIRING) (SCREAMING) Bowie! Give up! Bowie! Bowie! (PANTING) Bowie. They've killed him, haven't they, Mattie? Bowie. Bowie. (BABY CRYING) FATHER COUGHLIN: (ON RADIO) All you poor laborers and farmers, we have tried time and again to tell you that there can be no resurrection for America until Congress begins to coin and to regulate the value of money. We have endeavored to teach you time and again that there can be no coming out of this depression until what you earn goes to sustain your wife and your children. Somebody must... Where's this next train going? Fort Worth. Good. Is that where you're going? I guess so. Yes, ma'am. Don't you have your ticket? No. I got money, though. You're not sick, are you? No, ma'am. I'm just gonna have a baby, that's all. I think it'll be a boy. Can you tell? Well, I hope it is. But if it is, he sure will not be named after his daddy, God rest his soul. He crossed me up once too often, lying. He doesn't deserve to have no baby named after him. Is he dead? Consumption. I'm sorry. The baby makes me awfully thirsty. How long before we get to Fort Worth? About nine or 10 hours. Nine or 10 hours? That's a long time. MAN: All aboard! All aboard! ...in the meantime, I ask you to think seriously about your decisions last November. You have asked for the New Deal that is an ancient deal in all its finance. You have what you asked for. I ask you to abide by your decision. You have been warned a thousand times. Those who warned you should now bow their heads. Even though the truth be on their side, you have paid the price, democratic America. And now it is your turn to bear the burden in silence like men keeping America safe for democracy. Good evening. God bless you. (PIANO PLAYING) RADIO ANNOUNCER: Tonight Father Coughlin spoke to you from the studios of CKLW. And his broadcast reached you over a special network.